


all legends bear truth

by voltair



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Legend of the Blue Sea elements, Little Mermaid Elements, M/M, Magic, Merman Oikawa Tooru, No beta we die like wwx, Prince Iwaizumi Hajime, mentions of kenhina, yumikuri cameo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:40:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23860198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/voltair/pseuds/voltair
Summary: The tides are high and the sea is raging, fierce waves slamming forcefully against the hull of the ship. Lightning strikes down and sets the main mast aflame, the fire spreading as the terrified screams of men ring in the blustery air.Tooru avoids the falling pieces of debris and sharp wood that shoot through the water, keen eyes watching out for a silhouette hitting the surface of the sea.Lightning flashes again. He sees the sinking body of a familiar prince, snapping into action faster than he ever did in his life, barely noticing the dull pain of his tail being splintered by a piece of wood as he quickly wraps his arms around the strong upper body of the currently unconscious human, swimming back up to the surface.“Hold on,” he mumbles under his breath as he moves them away from danger, the sinking ship and the dying roar of the raging tempest eventually swallowed by the dark night.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Comments: 7
Kudos: 115





	all legends bear truth

**Author's Note:**

  * For [slytherinkenma](https://archiveofourown.org/users/slytherinkenma/gifts).



> i finally finished it ughjetksjdk my darling sena, thank you so much for commissioning me! i know it's not much but i hope you enjoy it nonetheless and i'm dreadfully sorry for the long wait! ily

  
  


The first thing Hajime hears is a song. It’s sung in an old language, one Hajime isn’t familiar with. The voice is soft and bright, mellow and sweet, caressing one’s heart like a gentle touch of a lover.

Hajime can feel the soft touch of cold fingers brushing against his cheek tenderly, the song lapsing into an end just as Hajime’s eyelids begin to flutter open. 

The hand retracts abruptly. Hajime only manages to get a glimpse of startled brown eyes and long brown hair before he closes his eyes briefly against the glare of the sun. When he looks again, the person is gone, leaving only the faint sound of splashing water and the quickest flash of violet. 

Hajime groans under his breath, his entire body thrumming with undercurrents of pain, his throat parched from thirst. It’s then that he hears the familiar shout of Hanamaki and he passes out again, the unforgettable melody of the beautiful voice still ringing distantly in his ear. 

-

Contrary to popular belief that they built underwater kingdoms and oceanic civilizations, merfolk are actually few in number and very rarely settled in groups. Due to being hunted by humans for sheer sport and to satisfy some sort of sick fascination, their population decreased drastically as the remaining ones took to hiding in places no humans could reach until the ages passed and they became nothing more than mere figures of myth.

Despite the lack of communication and any kind of governance, there is one unspoken rule that every half-man, half-fish knows. 

Never interact with a human. 

It’s an instilled fear within each and every one of them, stories about the brutal treatment of merpeople in the hands of human barbarians still fresh in their minds. 

Unfortunately, Tooru has never been one to resist his own curiosity. His only friend, Kenma, is well aware of this fact. It’s why he immediately knows that something happened when he sees Tooru approaching his cave with a dreamy look on his face. 

  
  


“What do you want, Tooru?” Kenma asks quietly from where he’s looking over at a stone carving on his desk yet again. 

Ah, Kenma, Tooru thinks fondly. Probably the most knowledgeable creature of magic in the currents of these waters. 

“Do you know what I did?” Tooru swims over to Kenma’s side, skimming over the carving the other merman is analyzing. Manmade, Tooru guesses, seeing as it’s written in a language Tooru doesn’t recognize. The drawing is a chart of sorts, showing stages of some land animal growing into a full-sized human. 

“You mean that incredibly stupid, incredibly dangerous stunt of yours?” Kenma turns to look at him, eyes unusually sharp. “Yes, I did.”

Tooru pretends to be unfazed. “Your stupid sting rays need to stop spying on me.”

“I ordered them to go after you whenever you drift a little too close to the surface, something you repeatedly do,” Kenma says pointedly, going back to his carving. “You have to stop, Tooru. Saving that prince is the last straw.”

“You won’t actually stop me,” says Tooru confidently, crossing his arms. “Without me, you’ll never hear about that shrimp again.”

Kenma pauses. His eyebrows furrow, not denying it. Tooru grins triumphantly. 

“How is he?” Kenma asks quietly.

“He’s fine,” Tooru assures, swimming towards Kenma’s shelves which were full of hundreds of stone carvings, texts and numerous bottles of potions both magical and medicinal, spelled so the liquid would not mix with the water they live in. “Still sings like a nightmare whenever he’s fishing. I swear, he’s going to attract a kraken someday.”

Kenma snorts. “They don’t exist anymore,” he snarks even as his eyes soften at the reassurance that Hinata Shouyou is doing fine. 

“Don’t trample on my fantasies,” Tooru complains. “I know for a fact that they still exist.”

“Yeah, and so do sea serpents,” Kenma mutters under his breath sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

“There were sayings from the Arctic region about sea serpent sightings, genius.” 

“Unconfirmed.” 

Tooru blows him a raspberry. Kenma laughs a little under his breath before his face grows serious again. 

“I’m serious, though.” Kenma continues even as Tooru avoids his gaze by pretending to pick some dirt off his scales. “What you did could get you in some big trouble even I can’t help you out of. Observing them from afar, that I could permit. But making contact with them? That’s taking it too far, Tooru.” 

“I know,” he says chirpily, “and that’s the last time. I won’t do it again, I promise.” 

Kenma eyes him dubiously, about to go back to his stone carving when he glimpses Tooru’s tail. 

“You’re wounded.” 

“It’s not much.” 

“C’mere.” 

“Your herbs hurt.” 

“Come. Here.” 

“Now now, Kenma-chan—no—!” 

—

“So you mean to tell me that someone heroically saved you from the storm that killed 2 men, made 16 men go missing and 13 half-dead from dehydration when they washed ashore packed like sardines in a small rowboat?” 

Hajime feels a little dumb when he nodded. “I couldn’t have mistaken that voice,” he murmurs as he takes a huge gulp of water, leaning back against the headboard. “And that… violet. Hair. No, skirt? Gown?” 

Hanamaki stares at him before deciding. 

“You’ve lost your mind.” 

“I haven’t!” Hajime snaps. “I know what I saw, okay? It was so vivid that it couldn’t have been a hallucination—”

“Hallucinations are _supposed_ to be vivid—”

“Shut up—”

“Let’s have the court physician look at your head again—”

“I will _behead_ you in front of the entire kingdom—” 

“I see the Prince is abusing his power again.” 

They both turn to look at the newcomer, watching them amusedly from the doorway. Matsukawa is grinning at them mischievously. 

“Mattsun,” Hanamaki greets with a wave. Hajime nods at him once. 

“Hanamaki deserves it,” Hajime says, causing Matsukawa to laugh and Hanamaki to punch him lightly on the shoulder. 

“I’m wounded!” Hajime exclaims. 

“Wounded my ass.” 

“Oh, I’m sure your bony ass is—”

“Now, now,” Matsukawa interrupts, walking over to the windows to open the curtains in a flourish. “You’re both so damn childish.” 

“Hey, watch your words in front of His Highness,” Hanamaki jeers. Hajime cuffs him in the head. 

If it were anyone else, they probably would have to be hanged for mocking the Crown Prince, but Hanamaki and Matsukawa were two princes from neighboring kingdoms adopted by the Queen herself when their lands perished. The three of them have been friends ever since the dawn of time, and Hajime would kill anyone who disrespected them in a heartbeat. 

“Don’t you have archery training?” Matsukawa asks Hanamaki, who was busy eating all the grapes prepared for Hajime. 

“I skipped it,” Hanamaki answers casually. Hajime threw a dried fig at him. 

“Hooligan.” 

Matsukawa eventually joins them on the bed, the three of them eating fruits for about thirty minutes before they decide to go for a walk on the beach.

Hajime inclines his head in acknowledgement when the people stopped what they were doing to bow to him respectfully, clearing the way for him and his friends until they reach the less populated area of the shore where Hajime was found washed up.

“We’re still looking for the remaining men,” Matsukawa shares grimly. The other two stayed silent, looking out at the wide horizon. 

Hajime is staring silently at the spot where he was found. 

“That voice…” 

Hanamaki rolls his eyes. “You were hallucinating.” 

“I’m not,” Hajime insists, “I heard it. And—fuck, it was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever heard—”

He’s cut off by a loud shout from the docking pier. 

_“Merman! A merman has been caught!”_

–

“What’s that, Kenma-chan?” Tooru asks one day as he lounges around in Kenma’s cave, pointing to a concoction the gold-tailed merman is brewing.

“A project in the works,” Kenma replies curtly, grabbing a few empty vials and pouring the translucent liquid inside before stacking them along with the hundreds of other potions in his shelves. 

“What kind of project?” 

“A dangerous one.” 

“Ooh, sounds exciting.” 

Kenma tells him to shut up and he laughs. Tooru spends a few more minutes talking Kenma’s ear off about the riches he found on a new shipwreck before Kenma has to leave to bring some medicine for the coral beds he’s trying to cure.

“Don’t touch anything,” Kenma had warned. Tooru had crossed his heart and promised. 

But Kenma never said not to look. 

And thus, Tooru’s wandering gaze snags on a stone carving that was left uncovered on Kenma's desk. 

Tooru’s breathing almost stops when he looks at the content of the stone.

A merperson…

Turning into a human.

—

The crowd parts once again when the Prince walks through to see what the commotion was all about, to have a glimpse of the supposed “merman” some fishermen caught swimming near shallow waters by pure luck.

Hajime is expecting to see some man dressed in a cheap costume or at least a weird-looking big fish, because there is no way merpeople are real. They’re nothing more than creatures of fanciful myth, bedtime stories told to exercise children’s imagination, sometimes to frighten them.

He stops short when he sees the bizarre creature trapped in a big net, beautiful brown eyes filled with pain staring right into his startled pair.

The merman is dazzling in his beauty, creamy skin stretched over a pale physique, his mesmerizing tail a deep, majestic shade of… 

Violet. 

—

“Your Highness, the merman—”

“Prepare a tub and bring him to my quarters.” 

“I don’t think that’s very wise, sir—”

“I am your Prince.” 

“Yes, my lord.”

— 

Something went wrong. Tooru was supposed to transform by now. He read in the carving that the transformation was only supposed to take an hour. 

It wasn’t long before some fishermen caught sight of him and several nets went flying, the men shouting excitedly among themselves.

He could escape. He was strong enough to do so. 

But the potion he ingested weakened his system.

Something hit the back of his head, and he succumbed to unconsciousness just as he felt ropes binding his body.

— 

Like he ordered, the merman is seated comfortably in a big tub to accommodate the size of his long tail. His braided hair is messed up, the brown strands dangling messily above his forehead and over his shoulders. 

There’s something about the way the merman stared at him that unnerved Hajime, never mind the fact that he’s literally standing in front of a creature previously thought to be no more than fantasy. 

Hajime is speechless in more ways than one, partly because his brain is still processing the fact that merpeople actually exist and partly because… 

The one in front of him now is the most beautiful creature he has ever seen. 

He’s almost enchanting in his radiance, almost too ethereal to look at. He doesn’t belong in such a pathetic place. He deserves to be situated in something as grand as his existence. 

Star-struck. 

Hajime is star-struck. 

“I—uh.” He clears his throat gruffly. “I’m—my name is Iwaizumi. Iwaizumi Hajime. I’m the Crown Prince of this kingdom.” 

The merman doesn’t say anything and just keeps staring at him with those expressive eyes. 

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” Hajime asks slowly. 

He’s sure. He’s almost a hundred percent sure that this merman was the one who saved him that night, the one with the voice of a nightingale. 

The merman nods once. Hajime silently freaks out, not expecting that the merman would actually respond. 

“Then.” He takes a deep breath, closing his eyes before meeting the stare of the merman straight on. “Were you the one who saved me back then?” 

The merman nods again. 

Hajime exhales a huge sigh of relief. 

He knew it. He knew he wasn’t crazy, wasn’t hallucinating. It was too real, too vivid. 

He’s about to say his gratitude before the merman speaks, shocking him into silence, that familiar beautiful voice quiet and alluring. 

“What are you going to do to me?” 

Hajime frowns, stepping closer. He finally notices the bruises that lined the merman’s arms and the small cut along his chest. He’s suddenly blinded with fury. 

“Those damned barbarians—”

“There is no need,” the merman interjects calmly, “to resort to violence.” 

It’s Hajime’s turn to stare at him. 

Abruptly, without really thinking about it, he asks, “What’s your name?” 

The merman’s face instantly hardens. Hajime immediately hastens to correct whatever mistake he made. Maybe merpeople were sensitive about their names or something—who the bloody hell knew, Hajime didn’t even know they existed until _today—_

“You can call me…” the merman trails off, thinking. Hajime waits. “Oikawa.” 

A laugh slips past Hajime’s chapped lips. 

”Oikawa? A fish? Really?”

The merman gives him a small glare. “Our names are not to be shared lightly,” he says, voice soft as flower and hard as steel at the same time. 

“Alright, alright.” Hajime puts his hands up as if surrendering. “No telling of names.” 

They’re silent for a minute, Oikawa staring into the distance while Hajime gawks at him dumbly. 

After a while, Oikawa speaks up again. 

“Why did you save me?” 

The answer comes easily. 

“Because that’s what you did when I was the one in peril,” Hajime replies earnestly, “and I’m not going to let some innocent creature be manhandled by those barbarians.” 

Oikawa huffs out a laugh. “I daresay I’m not as innocent as you think.” 

“Still,” Hajime continues stubbornly, “I’m not going to let them display you or sell you or anything. Word about you has probably gotten out by now, and I’ve no doubt people will come hunting, but I promise to protect you—”

“Such a brave and noble Prince this kingdom has,” Oikawa interrupts with a small, teasing smile that turned Hajime into a blushing, babbling fool for a solid five seconds before he managed to save face. 

“I’m just trying to give back what I owe you,” Hajime says simply. 

“I appreciate the kind gesture, but this is a storm that I must suffer through alone.” Oikawa’s hand traces the patterns of the scales on his tail, those enchanting eyes lost. “I started a great problem, and even someone with power like you cannot protect me from the hungry hands of man without suffering.”

“But I want to try.” Hajime’s eyes are insistent, determined. His hands are clenched into fists, bone threatening to break through skin. “I don’t want you to go through this alone.” 

Oikawa’s eyes lift up to his again, gaze hooded by the long lashes that fell over it. “Why do you care so much?” Oikawa asks softly. “I am but a stranger to you.”

“I…” Hajime’s brows furrow in thought. “I don’t know.” 

Oikawa’s answering laugh is bright and enthralling. 

Hajime stares as though he cannot look away. 

— 

“Your Highness, the people are angry about your decision to keep the merman inside the palace,” a foot soldier informs, his head facing downwards respectfully. “They believe you should parade him around. The King thinks so as well.”

Hajime’s face darkens. He knows what the last sentence implies. 

He’s being ordered to make a display out of Oikawa, one they could show off to other kingdoms. Boast about the fact that they’re the first ones to have come across such a magnificent being. 

Hajime merely tips his head before he turns around to leave, strengthening his resolve as he makes his way back to his chambers. 

—

Oikawa looks up as soon as Hajime enters, his hair already fixed. He cocks his head to the side, gaze questioning. 

“What’s wrong?”

Hajime shakes his head, moving to close the drapes. “We’re getting you out of here,” he says briefly, looking at the door anxiously, waiting for Matsukawa and Hanamaki to arrive. 

Puzzled, Oikawa asks, “How?”

Matsukawa and Hanamaki enter just as Hajime was about to answer, faces flushed. 

“The boat is ready,” Hanamaki announces, eyes widening when he catches sight of Oikawa in the tub. “Oh, wow, so it’s true—”

“The guards in the left wing exit are currently unavailable,” Matsukawa cuts in, “We’ll be able to escort him out using a moving cart. The boat will be waiting at the shore of the black sand beach.”

“We’ll stick around so we can make sure that nobody sees you or attempts to follow you,” Hanamaki adds, still gaping at Oikawa. 

“It’s too dangerous—”

Hajime turns to Oikawa, a stern expression plastered on his face. “Do you want to leave or not? This is your only chance. You’re not safe here.”

There’s something in Oikawa’s eyes, something he can’t quite explain. It’s gone in a second, leaving Hajime wondering if he saw it correctly. 

Oikawa looks down at his hands again, nodding silently.

“Then let’s get going!”

—

The plan goes relatively smoothly. They were almost caught by a couple of guards, but Hanamaki managed to distract them just in time for Oikawa and Hajime to slip out. 

Hajime carries Oikawa gently, feeling the smooth, scaly surface of his tail as he deposits the merman inside the small boat, getting inside after making sure the coast was clear. 

Hajime rows them further away into the sea, stopping when he deems the waters deep enough for Oikawa to dive in. 

“Right here should be fine.” 

Oikawa nods, face strangely downcast. Hajime’s forehead knots into a frown. 

“What’s wrong?” he asks worriedly. Smiling softly, Oikawa shakes his head once before murmuring, “Thank you.”

“It’s no problem,” Hajime assures. 

“Your people, your father…”

“I’ll tell them someone broke inside and kidnapped you. Tell them you transformed into a human and ran away. I don’t know. I’ll make something up.”

Oikawa chuckles before he brushes away the stray strands of brown hair that fell across his forehead. Hajime was about to say goodbye when Oikawa suddenly lurched and made a grab for his hand, pulling him into the water and tipping the boat over. 

Panic overrides Hajime’s senses as they submerged, warnings popping all over his head, cursing himself for trusting a fucking stranger, a _merman_ , for God’s sake—

When he opens his eyes, Oikawa is looking at him with a woeful gaze, hands firm around Hajime’s shoulder as if to keep him from sinking. 

And then, he leans in. 

—

There’s a story popular in both land and sea, a story of a mermaid and a woman falling in love. The mermaid was known as Historia, the first Queen of the Sea, way back when merfolk still lived in harmony and flourished under the regimen of an underwater monarchy. According to the legend, Historia was wandering through the open sea when a boat floated by, carrying a girl half-dead with starvation. 

The girl was named Ymir. 

It was said that Historia brought her to a cave where she nursed them back to health, and there she learned that Ymir was previously the captain of a pirate crew. She was supposedly kicked out of their ship when one of her crewmates framed her, claiming that he had seen her plot their demise with the captain of an enemy crew.

Historia helped her get revenge on the man who betrayed her, and Ymir became captain again. Historia made sure they never came across danger in the sea, and Ymir regularly told Historia of her adventures, and they soon became inseparable.

But word had spread among the merpeople, rumors of their Queen colluding with a human causing panic to arise in the hearts of the merfolk. Historia knew that she had to make a choice, and she was willing to give up her throne for Ymir when one of the Elders warned her that if she left, the merfolk under her rule would feel betrayed and seek revenge on them both.

She could not bear to part with her beloved, but she could never put her in danger.

It was then that the merpeople gained a special ability.

An ability enabling merfolk to erase memories of themselves from the minds of the human and those who saw them together.

—

The moment their lips touch, Tooru’s heart lifts in joy and sinks in sorrow at the same time. The prince’s eyes flutter close, arms slowly stopping from struggling against drowning.

The tears that leave Tooru’s eyes dissipate in the water as he finally pulls away. He caresses the prince’s cheek with the ghost of his fingertips, heart clenching as he swims towards the shore, just like he did before.

Oikawa takes one last look at the slumbering form of the prince laid out on the black sand before he goes back to the sea, where he belongs. 

Just before unconsciousness leaves Hajime’s body, he thinks he may have heard a distant _“Goodbye.”_

—

“Where have you been?”

“Nowhere.”

“One of my potion bottles is missing. Do you know how worried I’ve been?”

“Okay, fine. I took a little sip.”

“Oikawa—!” 

“Will you relax? Nothing happened. I didn’t even transform. Your potion is useless.”

“You should be glad nothing happened!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“I’m never letting you inside my cave again.”

“Kenma, no—!” 

—

Tooru is seated on a rock, watching longingly from afar. There seems to be a celebration on the prince’s new ship tonight. They took advantage of the low tide and brought out fireworks, the name of which Tooru learned with the help of Kenma. The joyful carousing of the men evoked envy deep inside Tooru’s heart, and he began to wonder. 

What if Kenma’s potion had worked? What if his tail was exchanged for a pair of human legs—legs that will allow him to walk on land, to run, to dance. He’d be able to see more of the amazing sights he glimpsed but wasn’t able to appreciate when he was captured. 

What if?

He sees someone linger by the foc’sle, standing near the figurehead. The man is looking out into the open ocean, and Tooru immediately recognizes him as the prince whom he had rescued. The prince who saved him. 

Hajime. 

He remembers the kiss. A choice, a decision he had to make. The pain comes back again, tugging at the heaviness in his heart. He dives back into the water before his tears could fall, wishing his memories had been erased along with the prince’s. 

—

Hajime knows that something is missing, something he can’t quite point out. It’s faint, a trail disappearing every time he tries to tread it. 

They found him washed up on the beach again, this time unharmed. Matsukawa and Hanamaki didn’t think much of it, thinking that maybe he fell asleep on the shore after swimming. 

But something didn’t feel right. 

Rumors of a mermaid sighting were all over the kingdom with no evidence to back it up. Hanamaki brushed it off with indifference, thinking some bored hooligan made up some stories to kill time. 

And then...

_Goodbye._

Hajime clutches at his head, suddenly throbbing with a recollection that felt like it belonged to an unreachable past. He hears someone approaching him. 

“Hey, you alright?” It was Matsukawa. Hajime nods briefly. 

“Just thinking.”

“About what?”

“Things.”

Matsukawa laughs at that, patting him on the shoulder before heading back to the lively crowd.

_Goodbye._

Hajime’s head throbs again. 

_Goodbye._

—

Kenma watches Tooru lie slumbering on his bed, the latter having fallen asleep while he was bothering Kenma a while ago. Tooru’s face is contorted with distress, whispering a name under his breath repeatedly. Kenma’s unfamiliar with it, but he knows that it could be no other than the prince Tooru is hopelessly infatuated with. 

Kenma has tried to convince him before, tried to tell him that what he’s feeling is no other than a fascination that came along with the deep desire to see what it’s like in a world they can never go to. 

However, Tooru doesn’t listen. He never does. Not when it comes to that prince. 

Kenma knows that something happened, that they had met somehow. He trusts Tooru enough to know that he had gotten out of the entire debacle without posing a threat to the secret existence of merfolk, but seeing him now… 

Kenma aches for him. He knows how devastating heartbreak is, how tantalizingly painful it is to be so close to someone so far. 

Kenma is aware of how his body is too fragile to handle the effects of the potion, but Tooru is one of the fastest and liveliest swimmers the sea has ever known. He’ll be able to handle the transition. 

Closing his eyes, Kenma takes a deep breath and a huge risk. 

“Tooru, wake up. I have a plan.”

—

Today is the Festival of the Flower Gods, an annual celebration where people from all over the kingdom and the villages on the outskirts come together on the town square to participate in the merrymaking festivities. 

People offered the finest flowers and lined them up in front of the fresco where depictions of the dancing flower gods were painted by a great artist born hundreds of years ago. A shower of petals fell over the dancing couples in the town square, children running around everywhere as several merchants sold flower toys and trinkets.

It was truly a joyous occasion, and yet Hajime felt nothing but boredom as he walked around with Hanamaki and Matsukawa flanking his sides as per usual. Hajime was fortunate that his old man was gracious enough to let him go out whenever he pleased, deeming it good that Hajime is getting himself acquainted with the people he will soon rule over. 

Hanamaki takes a swig of his ale. “What’s with the long face?” he asks, draping an arm around Hajime’s shoulder. “We’re here to have fun! C’mon, look at those pretty girls eyeing you! Eh? Wanna have some fun, eh?”

The mischievous archer lets out an ‘oof’ when Hajime elbows him on the gut, causing Matsukawa to snort loudly. 

“Mean!” Hanamaki whines. Matsukawa pats his back comfortingly.

“I don’t think His Highness appreciates your efforts in helping him fornicate.”

The two snicker at that. Hajime cuffs them both on the head. 

Fortunately for Hajime, Hanamaki’s attention was grabbed by a passing group of girls while Matsukawa went to buy some flowers he could offer to the fresco. 

He finds himself standing in the middle of the town square surrounded by twirling couples. He stares up at the sky, closing his eyes when petals rained down from the heavens. 

_Goodbye._

Hajime opens his eyes. 

The man stands out from the crowd, just around Hajime’s age. His face is fair and handsome, his body slenderly muscled like a swimmer. Built for speed, not brawn. His brown hair is braided, studded with light purple pearls. 

He’s looking around with an almost child-like wonder and innocence, some of the petals falling from the sky landing on his hair. 

Hajime just stares, trapped in some sort of enchantment. 

When their gazes meet, the stranger’s eyes grow wide. Hajime’s feet move on their own accord, hastily pushing past the throngs of people and making a grab for the stranger’s arm before he could slip away in the crowd. 

The stranger panics, hopping up and down and wildly shaking his arm so Hajime would let go of it but the prince persisted. 

“Hey, hey!” he shouts amidst the loud festival music. “I’m not going to hurt you!” 

The stranger stops moving, eyes still clouded with fear. 

“I—uh.” Hajime clears his throat, suddenly feeling awkward as he lets go of the stranger’s arm. “I haven’t seen you around here before. What’s your name?” 

“Oikawa,” the stranger squeaks out. Hajime frowns, the name sounding oddly familiar. 

“Do I know you?” he asks, gazing a bit more intently at the stranger’s face as though if he stares hard enough, he’ll be able to recognize him. 

“No,” the stranger replies a little too quickly. Hajime looks at him doubtfully. 

He decides to ask, “Where are you from, Oikawa?” 

“Far away.”

Hajime’s brow twitches. “Is that a name of a town or what?” 

Oikawa sighs, turning those piercing eyes to scrutinize Hajime. “Why are you talking to me, Your Highness?” he asks politely. Apparently this one knew of Hajime’s status as a prince. 

“I know I’ve seen you before,” Hajime blurts out before he could stop himself, no longer caring about how crazy he must sound. “I just—it’s been a really weird past few days. I don’t know. I just feel like I’m missing something. And maybe—maybe it… well, you just look familiar.” 

Oikawa stares at him as though he’s lost his mind. Maybe he has. 

“Well.” Oikawa shifts, looking uneasy. “What do you want with me, then?” 

Hajime shrugs helplessly, gesturing around at the festival. “You could,” he begins awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck, “experience the festival with me? I could show you around the kingdom. I know this place better than anyone.” 

Oikawa ponders about it for a moment before he eventually agrees, pursing his lips like he’s not sure he made the right decision. Hajime is a little irked by that, but he let it pass. 

“So what’s this festival for, exactly?” Oikawa asks as they walk around the plaza, gazing at the dancing folks. 

“For the flower gods,” Hajime explains as they stop in front of the fresco. “People dance and give flowers in their name.”

Oikawa’s eyes sparkle a little at the mention of dancing, his eyes wandering back to where people are twirling and jumping around in the square. Hajime can’t pinpoint the exact expression Oikawa is making, but if he had to make a guess, he’d say it’s envy. 

“Do you want to dance?” Hajime suddenly offers, face burning with embarrassment the moment the words leave his mouth. Oikawa is practically vibrating with repressed excitement. 

“Really?” 

“Uh, yeah… If you—uh, want.” 

Oikawa looks at him hopefully. “Will you teach me?” 

Hajime isn’t the best dancer, but he finds himself nodding. He guides Oikawa through the basic steps of the dance, touch lingering a tad longer than necessary. On his waist, on his arm, on his back. Hajime, quite frankly, has no clue what the hell has gotten into him. Oikawa doesn’t seem to mind.

Minutes later, he finds himself watching dumbly as Oikawa twirls along with the crowd, long hair swinging behind him as he laughs merrily. Petals still rain down from the heavens, giving the scene a perfect addition of loveliness. 

There’s something about him, Iwaizumi decides as he approaches Oikawa, almost as if in a trance. The latter had stopped dancing when he saw Iwaizumi walking toward him. They stare at each other, the seconds whizzing by quickly? Slowly? Hell if they know. 

“I know you.” It’s not a question. Oikawa doesn’t move an inch, soft brown eyes focused on Hajime, studying every expression that flits across his face. 

“What if you do?” Oikawa challenges, taking a step closer. Hajime doesn’t back away. “What are you going to do, Your Highness?”

Hajime takes a hold of his wrist. Oikawa doesn’t pull away.

“Come with me.”

-

The forest is a beautiful place, the chirping of birds and the occasional rustle of bushes forming a calming cacophony sung by the quiet chaos of the inhabitants. Green of all shades splashed with a hint of color from the wildflowers can be seen from any angle. A squirrel or two darts by. A songbird lands on a branch and launches on a melody only creatures of flight know. 

Oikawa is gazing around like he’s looking at all of this for the first time in his life. There is a breathtaking quality seen in the wonder of his shimmering eyes, his tall frame fitting perfectly in the canvas of the greenery. Like he belongs there. 

“I’ve seen you before.’”

Oikawa ceases his movements, his back facing Hajime. Hajime knows he sounds like a lunatic, but with every moment that passes by, his certainty grows.

“I just don’t remember where.”

Oikawa finally turns to face him. Hajime is startled by the profound sadness in his eyes. His mouth snaps shut, suddenly unsure.

“If you remember,” Oikawa says quietly, “I’d have to go away.”

“I don’t understand.”

Oikawa looks away.

“And I hope you never do.”

-

Hajime is a man of perseverance. Stubbornness, his father supplies. When something catches his interest, it’s impossible for him to let it go.

It’s why no matter how many times Oikawa disappears, however inexplicably, he doesn’t give up hope in finding him again. 

He looks for him in rose gardens. Inconspicuous inns. Riversides. Meadows. The forest.

And Oikawa would be there, every single time. Almost as if they’re connected.

He’s Hajime’s little secret.

-

“One of our librarians wrote this,” Hajime shares, shifting closer as he lets Oikawa take the book he brought. They’re sitting at a trunk of a fallen tree, a field of lilies laid out in front of them.

Oikawa doesn’t know how to read, Hajime learns. He doesn’t know a lot of things, but every time Hajime asks him about it, he disappears. Hajime has long since accepted that the mystery behind Oikawa is something he shouldn’t attempt to solve lest all of this evaporates into little bubbles of dreamlike memories. He doesn’t want that to happen.

This, what they have, is more important than what Oikawa has to hide.

“What’s it about?”

“Falling in love with a beast.”

Oikawa snorts. “Sounds real romantic.”

“It’s a good story.”

“I believe you.”

Somehow, they ended up sprawled across the flowers, lying on their backs as they stare up at the clouds forming obscure shapes in the blue horizon. 

Oikawa flips over until he’s on his stomach, opening the book as he begins to read.

Oikawa doesn’t know a lot of things, but he’s a fast learner.

“Once upon a time, in a very far-off country, there lived a merchant who had been so fortunate in all his undertakings that he was enormously rich. As he had, however, six sons and six daughters, he found that his money was not too much to let them all have everything they fancied, as they were accustomed to do…”

Hajime listens in contentment, letting Oikawa’s voice wash over him as a sense of tranquility settles over his languid form. 

The story ends eventually. Hajime spares a glance at Oikawa’s face and wonders what kind of thoughts swam around in all that guarded secrecy.

“It’s stupid,” Oikawa huffs out. His eyes flash with something Hajime can’t decipher. “A human will never fall in love with someone so vastly different from the norm.”

Hajime shrugs. “It could happen.”

“No love is that powerful.”

“Love can try.”

“You said these were all children’s stories. They’re nothing but a hopeless romantic’s fanciful wish.”

“Having differences doesn’t immediately equate to not falling in love, Oikawa.”

Oikawa’s gaze remains fixed on the closed book. “There are differences greater than the mind can perceive. Differences bigger than the heart can hold.”

Hajime falls silent. He hears Oikawa sigh, and he looks over at his direction.

His fingertips are grazing the petals of the flower, eyes wistfully mellow.

“What are they called?” Oikawa asks.

“Lilies.” 

Oikawa hums. “Didn’t you say that flowers have meanings? What’s this one’s?”

Hajime takes his hand and tilts his chin up, murmuring “beauty” under his breath before he takes a leap of faith and captures Oikawa’s lips with his own.

-

Hajime is panting harshly, heart beating dangerously fast as exhaustion settles over his bones like the world is weighing down on him, burdening him with Atlas’s curse. His eyes are blown wide with shock as he leans against the palace walls, hidden from the prying eyes of roaming guards.

_A storm. The ship. Fire. Falling. Sea. The shore. A song._

Oikawa tasted like forbidden nectar.

_“A merman has been caught!”_

Hajime can’t shake off the image of his horrified expression, the pain and panic in those eyes as Hajime bolted off, leaving him alone in that field of lilies. 

_A kiss._

The boat had flipped over. They were submerged underwater, Oikawa’s lips on his own, erasing his image from Hajime’s mind. From the minds of everyone who saw them together.

It was a kiss that was never meant to be returned.

-

_“There’s a catch to the story, though,” Kenma had told Tooru. “If that human kisses you again, he’ll have all his memories of you back.”_

-

Lightning strikes against the waves, awfully reminiscent of that fateful night. A dreadful, anguished howl cuts through the cacophonic gales. A lone merman is perched against a jutting slab of rock, the ocean weeping along with his agony. 

Kenma watches from a safe distance, heart breaking into pieces at the sight.

All legends bear truth.

In the end, there is no fairytale intervention.

There is no falling in love with a human.

-

_“He saved me, Hanamaki.”_

The archer steps back, distraught at the crazed look in the prince’s usually composed demeanor. 

“Hajime,” Hanamaki manages, “He’s not human.”

The sound of Hajime’s footsteps against the marble floors of the palace were enough of an answer.

_I don’t care._

-

The guards didn’t question their future king when he ordered them to prepare a boat for him at nightfall. He’s not to be disturbed, he instructed. He trusted Hanamaki and Matsukawa to keep an eye out in case someone followed him to the black sand shore. 

He lets the calm waves carry him far until he loses sight of the shore. Not a hint of fear quakes his determination. 

He kneels down by the edge of the boat, a hand reaching out to disturb the stillness of the moonlit waters. 

“Oikawa,” he calls out, not loud, not silent. “Please.”

There is a ripple. Hajime’s heart flutters in his chest as Oikawa appears from below as if he’s been waiting for Hajime all this time.

“You’re here,” he croaks out.

He’s beautiful, Hajime thinks. The moonlight shines so brightly and the sea is so clear. It allows him to see a hint of elegant violet connected to the rest of Oikawa’s body.

He’s magical.

“I’m sorry for running away,” Hajime apologizes sincerely, belatedly realizing that he’s still garbed in his formal attire befitting that of a crown prince. He’s reminded of how starkly different their worlds are.

Oikawa is a phantom of reality, living behind the protection of fantasy. Hajime is a human with responsibilities, saddled by the glory of ruling power and kingship. 

It would never work. 

Hajime holds his hand out.

_But they can try._

When they touch, it seems as though galaxies have exploded and the stars have realigned.

Hajime could sink under the water. Oikawa could set food on land. Possibilities are endless. Options are limited.

There is no rightful place for longing hearts except in each other’s touch.

It was a prince and a merman, the stories would later say. A retelling of a tragedy, this one ending favorably. 

In a world separated by land and sea, they managed to meet in the middle.


End file.
